Billecart-Salmon’s Vintage Brut 2009 is the house’s vintage-dated Champagne, drawn from a warm, ripe year and built for breadth without sacrificing definition. The blend is stated as 40% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 27% Pinot Meunier, with multiple reviewers noting that 2009 marked the first inclusion of Meunier in this cuvée. James Suckling calls it “a big, rich wine with lots of strawberry and red-apple character,” adding that the Meunier helped “maintain balance in the hot 2009 vintage” (93 points, JamesSuckling.com). Vinous’ Antonio Galloni agrees that the shift “has worked out so well here,” describing a wine that is “resonant and generous” and “so expressive today,” with a “low dosage of two grams per liter [that] is expertly judged” (93 points, Vinous).

That extra-brut dosage—2 g/L—is a key part of the style. It keeps the finish dry and structured even as the vintage’s ripeness shows in orchard and stone-fruit tones. The Halliday Wine Companion delivers one of the top endorsements, scoring it 96 and noting how “the warm vintage allow[s] the fruit-based flavours free rein—white peach, Granny Smith apple and nectarine,” while “the finish and aftertaste remain fresh and long,” concluding: “A house in grand form.” Wine Enthusiast is similarly emphatic at 95 points, finding it “now perfectly mature,” with “minerality as well as touches of freshness,” and a profile that is “crisp while also toasty” (Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast).

Production details reinforce the wine’s clean lines. Wine & Spirits reports it is “vinified in stainless steel” and highlights its staying power after extended lees aging, with “brisk, cool flavors of lime zest, star fruit and pear,” plus lingering “fruit complexity” and “textural pleasure” (94 points, Wine & Spirits). The overall picture is a ripe, confidently dry 2009 Champagne that pairs generosity with control; even Suckling’s note flags a “bit ponderous,” but the broader critical consensus lands firmly in excellent territory.